Toyota's way of doing things (kata), or strategies, are presented in easy-to-understand language, without hype or excess verbiage. Key points in this book include how leaders lead and teach, how change is instrumental to success, and how Toyota organized improvement workshops specifically designed to deal with flaws and out-dated approaches to workplace dynamics.
The messages from this book are useful and practical. Being able to adapt to new work structures and strategies is part of improving the culture of workers, for one. Another message is that because the marketplace is unpredictable, an organization must be flexible and willing to adapt to market changes almost immediately. The step-by-step process that Toyota uses to analyze various production processes is a valuable tool for any company whether they make cars or vitamins. Another message that came across clearly was how the behavior of managers can have an enormously positive impact on the attitudes and behavior patterns of employees.
I came away with the belief that everyone in every...
Also, ingenuity and innovation are keys to profitability; hence, all employees must be encouraged to ask the right questions, to share their best ideas and be motivated to embrace changes. This book helped me understand why an improvement kata and coaching kata can be effectively integrated into just about any organization, especially one that is by necessity going through frequent adjustments and changes. Successful changes are nearly always the result of strong leadership and good, honest communication. This is true with Toyota, and with any other organization. Rother has done a brilliant job capturing those concepts and dynamics in this book.
Works Cited
Johnson, Spencer. (1998). Who Moved My Cheese? An A-Mazing Way to Deal With
Change In Your Work And In Your Life. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Rother, Mike. (2009). Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness, and Superior Results. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.
